Last night I dreamed of colors. Well, perhaps not colors so much as the words of color. Upon waking, “indigo” and “azure” among others lingered in my mind as the tendrils of dreams often do.
The language of color is evocative and compelling. I am not speaking of the descriptions of fashion, design, or paint created by marketing minds; I am talking about the colors of nature.
The vastness and specificity of these words are a part of our creative consciousness. There are the gem colors of ruby, emerald, sapphire, carnelian, obsidian. The rich depth of the words sparkle in communal awareness for readers. They also include the glimmering shades of beach and sea to recall warm days at the shore: cerulean, sand, coral; the green tones of the fecund forest bring to mind a quiet, contemplative hike: moss, forest, fern.
Metals bestow us with the glowing colors of gold, silver, copper, bronze, and pewter. Flowers offer delicate or riotous lilac, rose, goldenrod, and fuchsia. Harvested woods give us the depth of mahogany, cherry, ebony, and walnut. Agriculture contributes its own bounty with hay, cream, honey, wheat. Spices lend the richness of saffron, cinnamon, turmeric, and nutmeg. I could continue almost endlessly.
“Nature’s first green is gold,” wrote Robert Frost of springtime, and those words invite images of ephemeral forsythia and daffodils. Chris Bohjalian has written about how he loves the word “cerulean” and uses it in every one of his books. Each of John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee tales used a color in the title, inviting readers into his story before opening the book. Writers from Shakespeare and Poe to Fitzgerald and Morrison used color imagery and symbolism to create meaning.
The literary rainbow is powerful. That these words can produce an image or convey mood is remarkable. Any writer must revel in the connections readers can make with a simple mention of color. As with any powerful tool, the color palette in writing must be respected and used with caution. I once read part of a self-published romance novel that repeatedly described the hero as having “sapphire eyes” and it became overbearing. I found myself thinking, “OK, I get it—he has intensely blue eyes.” She should have had a good editor.
The eminent philosopher Kermit the Frog* asked, “Why are there so many songs about rainbows?” I would suggest that it is because colors evoke feeling—and that is the purpose of good writing.
*“Rainbow Connection” was written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher.
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